Draft beer dispenser



Dec. 18, 1956 K. THAU ETAL DRAFT BEER DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 25, 1955 INVENIORS Dec. 18, 1956 K. THAU ETAL 2,774,229

DRAFT BEER DISPENSER Filed July 25, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 rad, .Zz.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent DRAFT BEER DISPENSER Karl Thau, Towson, and August Kiel, Sr., Baltimore, Md., assignors to Kay-Tee Corporation, a corporation of Maryland Application July 25, 1955, Serial No. 523,957 3 Claims. 01. 62-141) Draft beer i. e. beer as it is drawn from a barrel or keg of relatively large size e. g. 4 gallons or more generally is less expensive per unit of volume than beer in smaller containers such as tin cans or bottles. Draft beer also is preferred by many people.

Heretofore however the use of draft beer generally has been limited to situations in which the entire contents of a barrel or keg is consumed quickly e. g. within a day or so because beer is known to deteriorate rapidly after a portion of the beer in the container has been withdrawn and replaced by air.

It has been proposed to preserve the beer in large containers such as barrels and kegs by refrigeration, and by replacing the beer which is withdrawn with carbon dioxide gas but such attempts have not, so far as we are advised, been successful in making it practicable for a person or family to use the contents of a keg over a period of one or more weeks.

An object of my invention therefore is to provide a draft beer dispenser adapted for home use or for use on small boats and in other similar situations, which will preserve the beer and permit its use over a relatively long period of time.

A further object of my invention is to provide a portable unit which is capable of use wherever electric current is available.

An embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the cabinet of the dispenser,

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the interior of the cabinet and its contents with the front wall thereof removed,

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the interior of the cabinet with a side wall removed,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view looking downwardly in the lower compartment of the cabinet and Fig. 5 is a sectional view looking downwardly in the upper compartment of the cabinet.

Referring to the drawings, the cabinet consists of the bottom wall 1 provided with feet 2, the back wall 3 which extends the entire height of the cabinet, side walls 4 and 5 which extend the entire height of the cabinet and are provided adjacent their upper ends with the louvered openings 6 and 7, the front wall 8 which extends upwardly from the bottomwall 1 to the horizontal partition 9 and the top wall 10 which extends forwardly from the rear wall 3 to the vertical partial partition 11. The hinged doors 12 and 13 serve to close the top and front of the cabinet. The door 12 is hinged to the front edge of the top wall 10 and the door 13 is hinged to the free edge of the door 12. The front portion of the partition 9 and the vertical partition 11 form a recess in the upper front corner of the cabinet for the drip pan 14 and the beer spigot 15. This recess is partly occupied by the alcove formed by the three walls 16, 17 and 18 which afford space within the cabinet for the upper ends of the carbon dioxide cylinder 19.

The. space. within the upper portion of the cabinet between the walls 3, 4, 5 and 10 and the partitions 9 and 11 is partially occupied by the upper end of the cylinder 19 as noted above and the expansion or pressure reducing valve 20 which serves to deliver carbon dioxide from the cylinder 19 in which it is at a high pressure through the pipe 21 to the keg 22 at any desired lower pressure. The cylinder 19 extends downwardly through an opening in the partition 9 into the lower portion of the cabinet and rests on the supporting shelf 23. The remainder of the upper portion of the cabinet is occupied by the motor, compressor, fan and condensing coils of a refrigeration unit 24. The thermostatic electric switch 25 serves to regulate the operation of the refrigeration unit.

The wall 1 and partition 9 and the side walls 3, 4, 5 and 8 between the wall 1 and partition 9 are provided with a layer of heat insulation 26. The expansion coil 27 of the refrigeration unit is supported adjacent the rear wall 3 with the drip pan 28 under it. The remainder of the space in the lower part of the cabinet is occupied by the beer keg 22 which, as stated above, is connected by the pipe 21 to the expansion valve 20 on the carbon dioxide cylinder 19. The keg is connected also through the pipe 30 provided with the cock 31 to the spigot 15.

The operation of the dispenser is as follows. The switch 25 is set to maintain the desired'temperature in the cabinet. The beer keg is put in place and connected to the pipes 21 and 30 through the connector 32, the reducing valve 20 isadjusted to maintain the desired carbon dioxide pressure in the keg and the cock 31 is opened. Assuming that the beer in the keg has been cooled to the desired temperature it may be dispensed through the spigot 15 and will be maintained at the desired temperature and pressure. When the dispenser is not in use the alcove formed by the partitions 9 and 11 may be closed by the doors 12 and 13. It has been found that the beer in a keg may be dispensed over a relatively long period of time without appreciable deterioration.

We claim:

1. A draft beer dispenser comprising a cabinet having an upper compartment and a lower compartment separated by a horizontal partition, a refrigeration unit having its compressor and condensing coil positioned in the upper compartment and its expansion coil positioned in the lower compartment, a high pressure carbon dioxide cylinder mounted within the cabinet, and extending through said horizontal partition, a reducing valve connected to the outlet of said cylinder, a pipe leading from said reducing valve and adapted to be connected to a keg positioned in said lower compartment, a spigot mounted in said upper compartment and a pipe extend ing from said spigot into said lower compartment and adapted to be connected to said keg.

2. A draft beer dispenser as defined in claim 1 in which adjacent portions of the front and top walls of the cabinet are hinged, a vertical partition extends from said horizontal partition to the front edge of said top wall adjacent said hinged portion and the spigot is the rear wall of the cabinet, the top wall of the cabinet being divided and hinged adjacent the upper edge of said vertical partition, the front Wall of said cabinet being divided adjacent the front edge of said horizontal partition and hinged at it upper edge to the front edge 2,774,229 7 3 4 of the top wall of the cabinet thereby providing a References Cited in the file of this patent chamber in theuppet front portion of said cabinet UNITED STATESPATENI-S adapted to be closed by said. hinged portions of the top and front walls of said cabinet, said spigot being Kucher 1936 mounted on said vertical partition in said chamber. Jones July 1950 

